Observing Television – A Blog on Broadcast Media

Budget and elections are two events that pushes television channels on an overdrive. Every channel remotely connected with news tries to milk the audience which wants to know more as the budget and election results unfurl. TRPs are made or lost during these events and not surprisingly channels want to grab the eyeball and make available all possible resources at their disposal to the people running the show at the ground level.  I have known channels which plan to launch during elections for this very purpose. Of course the experts are in great demand. If it is the budget then it is the economists or those who claim to be the financial experts who suddenly become the people in highest demand.  I have seen experts move from one tv studio to another to interpret the budget. The industry bodies such as FICCI, CII and others suddenly come to life as their views are given extra importance by the media.

But let us look at what exactly is on offer in the channels. How the budget affects the different sections of the society, the economy, what has become costlier and what has become cheaper, what probably is the long term impact of the policy changes. All these issues obviously are very important and touch our day to day life. However, it leaves very little scope for the television producer to be different and give something creative. Some channels of late have included facebook like and dislike to various policy changes. But these innovations seem to be cosmetic and do not add anything more substantial than what has been done for many years.
On a different note the Internet is giving an altogether different kind of challenge to the channels. What it offers is interactivity. Even as the television channel keeps pace with the Finance Minister’s address, a surfer has the option to refer back what was the first thing he said. Something the channels can hardly offer. At best they can only keep repeating the salient points. So in short at a time when interactivity is the rule of the game, the channels will have to be really innovative to give something very different.

And this is where I believe youngsters from GenY can make a huge difference. They can come up with ideas which will catch the fancy of the peers. Trying to do something out of the ordinary…. something that will not only appeal to the youngsters but also show a new way to the seniors. So even as the net challenges the television news industry, it is Gen Y which has the key to make a difference.

My article on Indian Management November issue talks about the particular style of dealing with subordinates in a harsh style. IS BEING HARSH OKAY?

As I write this blog post, I know anytime now the court is going to come out with its verdict on Ayodhya.  Obviously there is tension and worry but the media is also highlighting the efforts being made to maintain calm after the verdict.  This is a big deviation from its usual image of trying to sensationalise issues. 

Prime Minister’s appeal for calm, personalities getting together to appeal for calm is also being written and reported. It is also interesting to note that media is also highlighting the fact that legal recourse is still available even once the High Court comes out with its verdict. The recourse being to appeal to the Supreme Court.

The following were some of the topics being discussed in NDTV’s website.

Similar news items could also be seen in other television channels.  An Economic Times headlines read: ‘Indian public figures unite ahead of Ayodhya verdict’ 

Of course news items such as Ayodhya turns into a fortress, Saints to meet after verdict etc were still being flashed but they were not the only reports.  Interestingly, for all of those who did not know about the full Ayodhya case, this is the time to catch up with history. Most news channels spoke about the background, what is the case all about, who were the litigants etc.  I am sure for many of us who have been following Ayodhya for sometime, there were new elements to know about the case.

Before I end this piece, I should also say that I hope peace and calm continues to prevail after the verdict.

Is it Tamil or Tamizh?  How would you pronounce the name Nymacheringa?  Is he or she the President or Secretary or Head?  How would you truncate a big name or Designation to fit into the screen?  Issues that television news channel have to deal with everyday. 

Every channel has developed its own style-book.  A style-book which need not always be available in the written format.  It may be conveyed to the subordinates by the seniors as and when necessitated by a particular news item, but even then mistakes do creep in.  For a channel which broadcasts news 24 hours a day… such mistakes are bound to creep in.  So every minute the news editor has to be alert to what is going on air, take a decision on what is right or wrong, or probably in his judgement the best way to carry a particular item. 

Yet getting a name or designation wrong not only reduces the news channel’s credibility but also angers the particular person. So how does one get out of this scenario. How to get the name and designation right.  This obviously begins with the reporter or the person at the ground level.   The person should ensure that he gets the right name from the interviewee or indiviuals he is talking to.  Further he should also ensure that he gets the correct designation for him.  Sometimes however, the official designation may not work for the particular news story.  If a person is a GM of a big organisation but has been used as an eyewitness to an incident in a particular story, the designation should obviously say Eyewitness.  So the next level of getting it right comes upon the output department.  The general rules obviously have to be kept at the back of the mind, however any doubts have to be cross checked before being put on air.  But many times overconfidence gives rise to mistakes.

An example will highlight how difficult it may be to get it right at the spur of the moment.  After the attack on foreigners on Jama Masjid, New Delhi yesterday, one of the channels got the Imam’s brother Syed Yahya Bukhari to the studio. He had reached the spot 15 minutes after the incident and was also important as he is the President of Jama Masjid United Front.  So the channel was confused on how to designate him.  They called him an eyewitness… but he had reached the spot 15 minutes after the incident, is it right to call him an Eyewitness.  Calling him Imam of Jama Masjid’s brother… did not make sense here.  And calling him the president of Jama Masjid United Front was also not apt.  Hence, the confusion was obvious.  With the authority with which he was speaking about the police arrangement etc, made it obvious that he wasn’t just another eyewitness. But the designation said so, I am sure not many viewers would have gone in depth into this… but  they would have been a bit confused.  This confusion many times forces a viewer to change the channel, the most dreaded thing for channels.